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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646412">You had me at aloe</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilydaydreams/pseuds/lilydaydreams'>lilydaydreams</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Puns, Canon Lesbian Character, Crack, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Plants, Useless Lesbians, i cannot believe i go this hard for a ship where the characters never interact in canon, kyalin brain rot hours, not really but closest tag i could find, once again i project onto a fictional animated lesbian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:15:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilydaydreams/pseuds/lilydaydreams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kya stumbles on a cute little plant shop and its even cuter owner, Lin Beifong. Week after week, she comes in and buys a new photosynthetic friend for her apartment. Her crush on Lin is flourishing, but her plants are pretty much all dead.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“Fascinating,” Kya tells her. “You’re incredibly knowledgeable about this.”</p>
<p>“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Lin says simply. </p>
<p>“Well, ‘cactus’ makes perfect,” Kya blurts out instinctively, immediately wanting to kick herself. Of course she had to get the “bad puns” gene from Uncle Sokka, and naturally it would make an occurrence at the worst possible time.</p>
<p>Lin stares at her for a moment, wide-eyed and skeptical, and Kya feels her cheeks turning red. She’s pondering setting down the cactus and making a run for it and possibly never opening her mouth in front of an attractive woman ever again, but then Lin lets out an undignified snort and shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous,” she tells Kya, her mouth twisting as if she’s trying not to show her amusement.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kya II &amp; Tenzin (Avatar), Lin Beifong &amp; Suyin Beifong, Lin Beifong/Kya II, Suyin Beifong &amp; Kya II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>197</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You had me at aloe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been writing this little oneshot for a while and finally finished and while I'm not totally happy with it, it's getting posted anyway! At first I loved the idea of PlantEnthusiast!Kya but after some more consideration I thought it would be more fun to bestow the Plant Mom Extraordinaire title on Lin instead.</p>
<p>Dedicated to my plant hoarder girlfriend, to the random dude on Reddit who responded yesterday to a six month old comment of mine with "Nobody cares about femslash," and to every plant that I've accidentally killed.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kya isn’t quite sure why the plant store catches her eye the first time. She’s just gotten off a long shift, and her feet ache with fatigue. She wants desperately to go home and shower and get out of her scrubs, but then what? A weekend of Netflix and take out all on her own?</p>
<p>Not for the first time, she wonders whether she should get a cat.</p>
<p>It would be unfair, she decides, to get a cat just for the company, not when she’s away at work so much. She’d be a bad cat owner for the same reason she doesn’t have any friends here: it’s hard to make time outside of work, especially when she’s so drained at the end of the day.</p>
<p>The Beifong Plant Store is cute, quaint, even if houseplants have never quite been her thing. Achy feet aside, she doesn’t want to go home to her empty apartment, so maybe browsing the small businesses she passes on her way back from work is the first step to making this city feel like <em> hers</em>.</p>
<p>A bell rings as she enters the shop. It’s a bit humid, and her eyes are met with more green than she’s ever seen in her life. The sight is beautiful, if a bit overwhelming.</p>
<p>“Can I help you?” a voice says, approaching her, and she’s just about to decline when she turns around and sees who’s spoken.</p>
<p>It’s a woman, Kya’s age or perhaps a little older, and she’s absolutely stunning. Dark hair chopped into a blunt bob, defined cheekbones, striking green eyes, and a scar that travels up from her jaw to her cheek. The woman is clad only in black cargo pants and a white tank top, but even so, Kya wishes she wasn’t wearing her scrubs right now.</p>
<p>“Um, yes, I could definitely use some help,” she says once she finally manages to speak.</p>
<p>“Are you looking for anything in particular today?” the woman asks, arching a perfect eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Not really,” Kya tells her. “Just a really big fan of, uh, plants.” That’s a lie―Kya has accidentally killed any plant that’s ever been unfortunate enough to make its way into her possession―but she’s not about to admit that right now. “Any recommendations?” she follows up, trying to sound more confident than she feels.</p>
<p>“Do you already own any plants, or are you a first timer?”</p>
<p>“I used to have quite a few,” Kya says, deciding to commit fully to her lie. “Didn’t take them with me when I moved here. I’m Kya, by the way.”</p>
<p>“Hi, Kya. I’m Lin,” the woman says in response. There is nothing particularly warm about her voice, but Kya has decided she already adores how her name sounds in Lin’s mouth. “I can show you a few of our popular beginner friendly varieties, if you’d like.” She strides to the back of the shop, picking up something small and waxy looking. </p>
<p>“Very nice,” she says, faintly recognizing it as some kind of succulent, but fairly out of her element beyond that. </p>
<p>“This is an aloe vera plant,” Lin says. “These are one of our best sellers, since they’re cost effective and easy to take care of.”</p>
<p>“It’s lovely,” Kya says, really meaning it. The plant seems pretty nice, even though she doesn’t know the slightest thing about it. “It looks very...healthy. I’ll take it.”</p>
<p>Lin gives her a brief half smile, softening her face in a way that Kya wants to see again sometime. “Excellent. I’ll ring you up. Do you need any care instructions?”</p>
<p>Kya says no, making a mental note to Google how to keep this plant alive when she gets home, and says goodbye to Lin. Any shopping expedition that involves talking to a beautiful woman, she decides, is worthwhile, and she smiles to herself as she walks home.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The aloe vera plant somehow becomes limp and decrepit in just a week, and Kya can’t figure out what the hell she did wrong. So when she visits the plant store for the second time (this time, she makes a point to wear a cute sundress and not her scrubs), she really does mean to come clean to Lin, tell her that it didn’t work out, and ask for help.</p>
<p>But then she actually <em> sees </em> Lin again, and damn, do her arms look good in that tank top, and Kya can’t even remember her real reason for coming in.</p>
<p>“Oh, hello,” Lin says, spotting Kya near the doorway of the shop. “Kya, right?”</p>
<p>Kya’s heart does a silly little flutter. She’s pleasantly surprised that Lin remembered her name. “Yes! Hi. How are you?” One of the things Kya has always despised about herself is the way her conversational skills go to shit when she’s talking to a woman she finds attractive. Any other time, she considers herself witty and interesting and clever. Women like Lin always seem to make her clam up, struggle with her grasp of the English language.</p>
<p>“I’m well,” Lin says, casting her a brief glance as she strolls around the shop, spritzing some of the plants with a spray bottle. “How’s that aloe vera working out for you?”</p>
<p>Now would be the time to tell her it’s not doing very well, that the plant has managed to die in what must be record time. Instead, Kya smiles brightly and lies. “It’s great. Such a nice way to decorate the place.”</p>
<p>“Good,” Lin says. “I’m glad.” She begins to turn away, and Kya says the first thing that comes to mind to get her to stay.</p>
<p>“I’d love to keep adding to my collection. Maybe some cacti?”</p>
<p>Lin studies her, as if she can’t figure out what Kya’s up to, and in all fairness, Kya doesn’t really know what’s going on either. She eventually stops searching Kya’s face, gives a miniscule shrug, and pulls a plant off of one of the many shelves in the store. “This is a moon cactus,” she says, holding it out to Kya. </p>
<p>Kya takes it, examines it with wonder. She hadn’t realized cacti could be beautiful, but this one certainly is: it’s crowned with a vivid red fruit, so vibrant that she almost would have assumed it was fake.</p>
<p>Her fascination must show through in her expression, because Lin rewards her with a hint of a smile. “They’re a very interesting cultivar. It’s actually a graft of two different species. The red part here―” she says, reaching out to lightly tap the top of the moon cactus with her finger, “Is a mutant hence the unusually bright color. But it’s not viable on its own, so we graft them onto another succulent.”</p>
<p>“Fascinating,” Kya tells her. “You’re incredibly knowledgeable about this.”</p>
<p>“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Lin says simply. </p>
<p>“Well, ‘cactus’ makes perfect,” Kya blurts out instinctively, immediately wanting to kick herself. <em> Of course </em> she <em> had to get the “bad puns” gene from Uncle Sokka, and naturally it would make an occurrence at the worst possible time </em>.</p>
<p>Lin stares at her for a moment, wide-eyed and skeptical, and Kya feels her cheeks turning red. She’s pondering setting down the cactus and making a run for it and possibly never opening her mouth in front of an attractive woman ever again, but then Lin lets out an undignified snort and shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous,” she tells Kya, her mouth twisting as if she’s trying not to show her amusement. “C’mon, let’s ring you up for this.”</p>
<p>Kya walks home, holding her new cactus, and privately makes a couple of resolutions to herself. First, she’s not going to kill any more plants. Second, she needs to find a pun that will make Lin laugh for real.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The weeks go by, and Kya falls into a comfortable pattern. She stops in once or twice a week, sometimes on her off days and sometimes when she’s heading home from work, and more often than not buys something. Lin is always there, and while Kya knows the shop has limited hours, she still wonders when Lin finds the time to sleep.</p>
<p>To Kya’s credit, her plants aren’t <em> all </em> dead. The aloe vera seems like it’s on its last leg, no matter how much she waters it, but she thinks it’s still technically alive. A pothos that she bought the other week is wilted so much that it can’t stay upright on its own, but she hasn’t completely given up on it yet. Her African violet, which had been one of her favorite purchases, has maybe one or two remaining leaves that aren’t shriveled up and brown. The moon cactus is actually doing pretty great. She hasn’t tried watering it at all, just leaving it on her windowsill to get plenty of light.</p>
<p>When Lin asks, though, the plants are all thriving. They’re healthy and even experiencing new growth. Sometimes Lin gives Kya a look like she knows that’s bullshit, but she never calls Kya out on it.</p>
<p>“Hi, Lin!” Kya calls brightly when she stops in after work for the first time in several days. </p>
<p>She hears a stumble from the back of the shop, followed by the sound of glass shattering and some muffled cursing. Kya rushes back, only to see Lin attempting to pick up fragments of broken glass from the floor with her bare hands.</p>
<p>Kya doesn’t even have time to tell Lin to just get a broom for goodness’ sake before she injures herself, because Lin lets out a tiny yelp as a shard of glass slices open her finger. “Fuck,” Lin mutters, finally registering Kya’s presence. “Hello, Kya. Let me just get a paper towel or something real quick so I don’t drip blood everywhere.”</p>
<p>“Absolutely not,” Kya says. “Sit down and I’ll bandage it up for you.”</p>
<p>Lin wrinkles her nose, begins to protest that it’s not really that serious, but Kya insists, ushering her over to the chair Lin keeps behind the counter and kneeling down in front of her. “I’m fine, really,” Lin continues to argue, but Kya has already whipped out the mini first aid kit she keeps in her tote bag, rummaging around in it for an antiseptic wipe.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry I startled you,” Kya says apologetically. “I’ll pay you for the cost of the glass thingy, whatever that was.”</p>
<p>“Of course not,” Lin says, extending her hand so Kya can dab at the blood with the antiseptic wipe. “That was all me. I broke it.”</p>
<p>“Well, yeah, but I was the one who surprised you by accident and made you drop it.”</p>
<p>“It wasn’t you,” Lin reiterates. “I’ve just been a little stressed lately and I got jumpy.” She looks uncomfortable, doesn’t meet Kya’s eyes for a moment, and quickly latches onto something to change the subject. “So, do you just always have a first aid kit with you?”</p>
<p>“I do,” Kya confirms, placing a piece of gauze on Lin’s still-bleeding finger and applying pressure for a moment. “You should keep one here in the shop, if you don’t have one already. Better safe than sorry.” Lin just grumbles something unintelligibly and rolls her eyes. “What’s stressing you out right now?” Kya asks her. “If you feel comfortable telling me.”</p>
<p>Lin shrugs, averts her eyes again. “Nothing major. My sister, Suyin, just launched a new marketing campaign for us, and it’s been successful enough that we’ve gotten a massive influx of online orders. I’m just a little busier than usual.”</p>
<p>“That’s amazing, Lin!” Kya says enthusiastically, finally wrapping up her finger and giving her hand a little encouraging pat. “You’re all set on this. It should clot soon.”</p>
<p>“Thanks,” Lin says, standing up and grabbing a broom. Kya follows her back to the pile of broken glass. “We definitely need the sales, so no complaints here.”</p>
<p>“I can see how that would be pretty stressful, though,” Kya empathizes. “Getting in a routine and then having your workload intensify like that.” Lin sweeps up the glass, not looking at her, but she smiles softly, an expression that Kya is becoming more and more familiar with. “But you’ve got this. I ‘beleaf’ in you.”</p>
<p>This gets Lin to look up, a faux-irritated look on her face. “Really, Kya?”</p>
<p>“I thought that was a pretty good one,” Kya says, grinning. Lin just shakes her head.</p>
<p>Kya doesn’t buy a plant that day, but she does call out an encouragement to Lin as she leaves: “Bye, Lin! Remember to take care of yourself. I’m <em> rooting </em> for you.” The shop door closes before she can hear a response, but she imagines Lin’s answering groan anyway.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The next week, Kya visits the shop after work, directing an animated greeting at the figure at the back of the shop organizing a shelf. The woman turns around, and she realizes with a start that although this woman looks quite a bit like Lin, it’s not, in fact, Lin. </p>
<p>“Wait, you’re not Lin,” Kya says, genuinely surprised that Lin isn’t in the shop. “Where is she? Is she doing alright?”</p>
<p>The woman, who’s very pretty but who Kya privately thinks resembles a softer, younger facsimile of Lin, hops down from her step stool and makes her way over. “Oh, so <em> you’re </em> Kya,” she says with a smirk.</p>
<p>“That I am,” Kya answers with a smile. “And you must be Suyin. It’s so nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>“Just Su is fine.”</p>
<p>“How’d you know it was me?” Kya asks curiously.</p>
<p>Somehow, Su’s smirk gets even bigger. “Pretty, energetic, comes into the shop weekly without fail...call it an educated guess.”</p>
<p>“Lin’s mentioned me?” Kya says, trying and failing to keep the excitement out of her voice.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Su says. “You’re one of our best customers. Lin’s fine, by the way. I just forced her to take a day off to go visit our mom.”</p>
<p>“That’s so thoughtful of you. I’ve thought for ages that she should take a break.”</p>
<p>“So what are you looking for today?” Su asks, adopting a professional tone.</p>
<p>“I was actually just going to browse a bit.” Kya wanders around the shop for a bit, but if she’s being honest with herself, everything looks more or less the same without Lin’s guidance. She’s ambling around the same aisle of the shop for the third time when Su finally interjects.</p>
<p>“Kya, it’s fine if you don’t want to buy anything today. Even a great plant enthusiast like yourself doesn’t have to make a purchase here every time.”</p>
<p>Kya nods and shrugs, keeping her voice casual. “It’s so weird. I guess none of the plants are really, uh, speaking to me today.”</p>
<p>Su makes a face that Kya recognizes from Lin: she’s trying really, really hard not to laugh. “That’s fine,” she says, trying to keep the amusement from her voice. “I’ll tell Lin you stopped by.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good. It was nice meeting you.”</p>
<p>“Goodbye, Kya,” Su says politely. “Have a good day.” Kya is just about to exit the shop when Su calls out to her again. “Oh, a bit of friendly advice? Just ask my sister out before you end up with a house full of plants that you don’t even want. Like, I appreciate the business, but c’mon.”</p>
<p>Kya’s eyes widen and she freezes. <em> God, has she really been that obvious? </em> She does lack subtlety sometimes; she knows that. <em> Wait, is Lin single? Is Lin into women? Is Lin into </em>me?</p>
<p>She doesn’t ask any of those questions though. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she tells Su once her voice returns. “Bye!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>By the next time Tenzin and Pema come over for dinner, Kya has gotten so used to plants covering her windowsills, her countertops, her desk, and her kitchen table that she doesn’t even register how jarring the sight of all of them must be.  </p>
<p>“Kya…” Pema says, a smile plastered onto her face. “Have you found a new calling in gardening?”</p>
<p>“If she had, would all these plants look the way that they do right now?” Tenzin asks, and Kya throws a wet dish rag at him. He fails to dodge it and it hits him in the face, eliciting a laugh from Pema.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of a funny story,” Kya says. “I’ll tell you once we’re all situated.” She doles out portions of stir fry for the three of them and gets them settled at the kitchen table, before launching into an account of the last couple months.</p>
<p>Once she’s done, Tenzin is gaping at her incredulously and Pema just looks entertained. “So, just to confirm,” Tenzin says slowly. “Kya, you’ve become a plant hoarder and spent an obscene amount of money on a hobby that you don’t even like, to impress a girl simply because you think she’s attractive?”</p>
<p>“Keep up, dear, that’s exactly what she just said,” Pema tells him.</p>
<p>“Okay, well, when you put it like <em> that </em> it doesn’t sound great,” Kya says.</p>
<p>Tenzin arches an eyebrow at her. “Explain to me why you couldn’t just be normal and ask her out?”</p>
<p>Kya begins to list off reasons. Lin is hot and intimidating. Lin probably isn’t even into women, even if she does wear cargo pants pretty frequently. Lin will judge her for being bad at taking care of plants. Lin maybe has a secret boyfriend who will come murder Kya if Kya dares to make a move. </p>
<p>“And now you have an apartment full of dead plants instead,” Tenzin concludes with an eye roll.</p>
<p>“Yep!” Kya answers. Pema just sighs and buries her head in her hands for a moment.</p>
<p>“May I offer some brotherly advice?”</p>
<p>“You’re going to offer it regardless of whether I say you can or not, so go for it.”</p>
<p>“Just be honest with her,” Tenzin says. “Ask her if she’d like to go on a date with you.”</p>
<p>“Please, please, <em> please </em> listen to him before you end up with more dead plants,” Pema agrees.</p>
<p>“I <em> am </em> accumulating a lot of plants,” Kya muses. “They’re not all dead, though.” Pema pointedly eyes the African violet at the center of the kitchen table with its wilted leaves and shriveled flowers and Kya thinks maybe the two of them might have a point.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Hey, Lin,” Kya says upon her next weekly visit.</p>
<p>Lin must sense the uncharacteristic trepidation in her voice, because she tilts her head at Kya quizzically. “Hey.”</p>
<p>“Do you have a minute?”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p>Kya takes a deep breath, steels herself. “I need to tell you something. All my plants are actually dead.” It’s a bit of an exaggeration, because no matter what Tenzin and Pema think, there are a few that are actually still alive. Even so, it gets the point across.</p>
<p>Lin’s eyes widen with horror. “What? But just last week, you said they were all doing well. What’s happened since then?”</p>
<p>“I’ve, uh, been lying about the plants,” Kya confesses, bracing herself for yelling or anger.</p>
<p>“What?” Lin says blankly.</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m really sorry for not telling you the truth, and I know this is gonna sound so weird, and I’m sorry if I’m overstepping any boundaries, in which case you can totally ban me from the shop permanently―”</p>
<p>“Out with it,” Lin orders, cutting off her rambling. “What’s going on?”</p>
<p>“I don’t actually give a shit about plants. I just like you.”</p>
<p>Somehow, Lin still looks completely and utterly confused, even though Kya’s pretty sure there’s nothing left to be confused about. She wishes Lin would just hurry up and reject her. Rip the proverbial bandaid off.</p>
<p>“You...what?” Lin asks instead. “Is this a joke?”</p>
<p>“No. I really, really like you, and your sister and my annoying brother pressured me into finally saying something, and now I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t have listened to either of them―”</p>
<p>“God, I told Su not to say anything,” Lin mutters to herself under her breath.</p>
<p>“So, um, no worries if not,” Kya says. “But I just wanted to tell you in case you wanted to go to dinner with me sometime. My treat.”</p>
<p>“Kya, really?” Lin says, and to Kya’s shock her voice sounds hopeful, not disgusted or alarmed. “You’re saying you have feelings for me?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Kya says, taking another deep breath, and recites the line that she practiced a dozen times in the mirror this morning until she could say it without laughing or her face flushing. “You had me at ‘aloe.’”</p>
<p>Lin makes a strangled coughing sound, like she’s choking on air, and then there’s her laugh, somehow even more beautiful than Kya had ever imagined it. She thinks that it would be worth it to go into debt over a bunch of houseplants just to hear that laugh again. “Kya, you fucking idiot,” Lin finally manages once her giggles subside, and Kya beams at her. “Yes, I’d love to go to dinner with you.”</p>
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